Advice for trustees owning unregistered land

Contents

New transactions which trigger First Registration on or after 6 April 2009
Who will this affect?
Are there any circumstances involving trustees that will NOT trigger an application?
When do I have to register the land?
How do I apply for first registration?
Land Registry Advisory Policy

New transactions which trigger First Registration on or after 6 April 2009

If you are, or act for, a trustee owning unregistered freehold land, or unregistered leasehold land with more than seven years left to run on the lease, you will need to be aware of the triggers.

The effect of this legislation means that you must apply to Land Registry to register the land when it vests in a new trustee by:

• a deed of appointment of a new trustee or a deed made in consequence of the appointment of a new trustee
• a memorandum executed as a deed evidencing the appointment of a new trustee and to which section 83 of the Charities Act 1993 applies
• a vesting order of the court made under section 44 of the Trustee Act 1925 that is consequential on the appointment of a new trustee.

Also, an application for first registration must also be made where unregistered land held in trust is partitioned amongst the beneficiaries of the trust.

Who will this affect?

Anybody who owns the legal title to unregistered land that is held in trust could be affected. This could include trustees appointed by: the owners of property held in joint names (or by the survivor if one or more joint owners has died or, if all the joint owners have died, then by the personal representative of the joint owner who died last); unincorporated charities; landed estates (excluding settled land); social and working men’s clubs; sports clubs and other similar organisations.

Farming families and others where the land is held in trust amongst beneficiaries will be affected if partitioning of that land takes place.

Are there any circumstances involving trustees that will NOT trigger an application?

The following circumstances will NOT trigger a first registration application:

• The appointment of a new trustee of land held in trust for a trade union or an unincorporated employers’ association (including a federated employers’ association) by an instrument in writing (including a written record of a resolution) where section 13 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 applies.
• The appointment of a new trustee of a settlement under the Settled Land Act 1925.
• Where land owned by the trustees of a charity is vested in the Official Custodian or the charity is incorporated as a body corporate under Part VII of the Charities Act 1993.

When do I have to register the land?

You can make a voluntary application to register the land at any time. Voluntary registration currently allows a 25 percent discount on the normal fee.

However, if any of the events referred to in the list above under New transactions that trigger First Registration have occurred after 6 April 2009, you must apply for first registration and so the fee reduction does not apply.

There is a requirement under section 6 Land Registration Act 2002 to register within two months of any event that triggers first registration, although the registrar does have power to extend the two month period which he will exercise in the appropriate circumstances.

How do I apply for first registration?

Land Registry Practice Guide 01 – First Registrations gives full instructions on how to apply for registration including which forms to use and advice on how to complete them.  The following is a brief explanation of the process.

You will need to complete the first registration application form FR1 and the document list form DL. All of the deeds and documents relating to the property need to be listed on form DL.

You should send form DL (in duplicate), form FR1 and the listed deeds and documents to the Land Registry office dealing with the area where the property is situated. Land Registry Practice Guide 51 – Areas served by Land Registry Offices lists all of the offices and the areas they cover.

The fee payable for first registration is calculated under scale 1 of the current Land Registration Fee Order. Enter the amount of the fee in panel 5 of form FR1 and enclose a cheque for that amount, payable to ‘Land Registry’, with the application. 

The latest fee order together with a fee calculator can be viewed by clicking in the Fees panel at the top of this page and making your selection from the dropdown menu.

Evidence of identity is required for all applications lodged by someone who is not a professional conveyancer and for some applications lodged by conveyancers. Further information on the evidence required can be found in Land Registry Public Guide 20 – Identity checks, conveyancers should refer to Land Registry Practice Guide 67 – Evidence of identity - conveyancers.

Certified Land Charges searches will be needed for all existing and previous trustees from when the trust was set up. Land Registry Practice Guide 63 gives a full explanation of Land Charges searches and how to apply.

When making an application you should ensure, whenever possible, that all relevant documentation is enclosed and forms are fully completed. Land Registry operates a rejection policy and incomplete or inaccurate applications may be returned. 

If the application relates to a large estate or comprises numerous parcels of land that would require it to be lodged at more than one Land Registry office please contact the Register Development Manager at one of our local offices as soon as possible. We will be able to consider procedural aspects specific to your estate and advise on a suitable method for preparing and successfully lodging your application.

Land Registry advisory policy

We offer advice to our customers through our publications and enquiry services and through the day-to-day handling of applications. 
We provide factual information including official copies of registers, title plans and documents, searches and details of our forms and fees.
We provide procedural advice to explain how the land registration system works and how to make applications correctly.
There are limits to the advice that we will provide. We will not provide legal advice.
In providing this factual information and procedural advice we will:

• be impartial
• recognise that others may be affected by what we say
• avoid any conflict of interest.

We would advise that you seek the advice of a legal professional if you do not understand the legal implications of being a trustee or the registered proprietor of land. The Law Society can help you find a solicitor in your area.